Afghan Insurgency Stronger Than Ever, Taliban Training Extremely Young Soldiers (VIDEO)

The war President-elect Barack Obama is inheriting in Afghanistan includes an insurgency that's stronger than ever.

And it's creeping ever-closer to the Afghan capital.

In a video obtained by CBS News, a U.S. convoy is attacked less than 20 miles from Kabul.

"I think in Afghanistan, we really dropped the ball for a long time," said Karin von Hippel of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

It's now widely agreed America's new president needs a new approach, CBS News cheif foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan reports.

Keep reading here.

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Watch this video report from CBS News.

Comments

[GonzoFactor]

I always though that we'd be out of Iraq within 10 years, but I've felt that we'd be in Afghanistan for decades. It's a nation with a deep-seated yearning for independence on its own terms, where the nation is less important to its people than its tribal divisions and its religious disagreements. It's not going to be a functioning US-style government, and certainly not as long as interference keeps pouring in from Pakistan.
The only hope for this situation is to stop Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and to neuter the Taliban, and it just ain't gonna happen without major changes in Pakistan.

[Durango]

According to todays post by Juan Cole what we are calling the Taliban is made up of at least 4 distinct groups. One of which is the original Taliban of Mullah Omar.

One of the groups is led by Hekmatyar who is not the Taliban at all. His organization was supported and funded by the CIA during the Russian occupation in one of the greatest CIA mistakes of all time. He has been the chief troublemaker in Afghanistan since long before the Taliban arrived on the scene.

I suspect that in addition to the groups Cole mentions there are numerous Opium War Lords whose main goal is protecting their product.

At any rate, we need to recognize that the Taliban were never our primary enemy. They gave comfort and support to al Qaida and Bin Ladin and that more than justified our initial invasion.

But now we must make clear our goals. That is the capture and destruction of Bin Ladin his organization and his ideology. And to keep the region from becoming a staging ground for terrorist training and attacks.(Not just on the West, but India and Pakistan as well).

It is time to open negotiations with the various factions. And to see if we can isolate the worst elements by dealing with the more "reasonable" elements.

The people of Afghanistan deserve an end to their endless war.

[CaptainStormfield]

People need to remember that the Oil Companies and the NeoCon's were trying to get into Afganistan well before 9/11. If it were simply a matter of punishing the Taliban for harbouring Bin Laden we wouldnt still be there and they wouldnt have put a Oil Company guy in as puppet president. The PNAC policy of pushing into the oil and gas regions of western asia. The pipeline from Kazakhstan to the gulf is probably dead for now. What to do ?

[MagisterLudi]

OK, Americans are interested in -stan oil. Duh. And who isn't.
So in your tunnel vision understanding the fact that U.N. gave 22 countries mandate to invade A-san had nothing to do with 9-11? Learn to use that glue as indicated.

[Horst]

Afghanistan is a basket case. Illiteracy is 70% for men, 95% for women. Pakistan props up the Taliban. The solution is to pull out and periodically eliminate the leadership using special forces.

[MagisterLudi]

Then why pull out?

[thebeautyoftheburst]

Historically the way this type of war was won was by eliminating every man woman, child, goat, chicken, etc that the enemy had. In other words complete and utter annihilation right to the last living thing. The Koran also says something like that that as well. In our case this would be impossible to do (this is not the middle ages). All the west can do is put the pressure on the Taliban at the expense of lives and resources. Diplomacy and dealing with the Taliban will probably be the way forward if we want to save lives in the long run. Bottom line: this war is un-winnable the way it is being currently fought.

[markand]

Ignorance and intolerance is so cool!

[watchingthings]

Historically no nation has been able to impose its will on the Afgans. The Russians even took young children to Russia and "Russified" them. This made no difference. I doubt that any can be trusted as "your friend". They only trust members of their own clan. They make business deals with other clans. All outsiders are just that..."outsiders"

[Gasparilla]

I think we might have to admit we've done all we can and should do there, and get ready to leave. You are right, whether it's the British Russians, us, we can never effectively control that country. Too spread out and too rural.

[munki]

President Elect Obama... Please... do not be intimidated...
This is a tough road, but we know you can... as American will be behind you...
ally the neighboring and strong countries are the key...

[AbrahamSadegh]

“Taliban,” let's see what other words can that vicious word invokes and can be associated with in order to remember it for all that it represents: Taliban, Black Plague; Taliban, Spanish Flu; Taliban, cancers; Taliban, heart attacks, Taliban, HIV/AIDS; Taliban, Tuberculosis, Taliban, Botulism; Taliban, Malaria just to mention a few of human afflictions. This is actually not fair because these diseases primarily affect the body whereas the "Taliban" affects both the body and the soul.

And lest the civilized world forgets and allows this monstrosity called Taliban to survive in any form, let's not forget “Taliban” and innocent “dead” girls and women covered from head to toe in a shroud “walking,” being beaten, raped, and deprived of all their inalienable rights; young children being brainwashed to become deadly weapons rather than living a normal life they are by God entitled to; total oppression of the non-Talibans; absolute theological dictatorship; endangering the world by making heroin available across the globe; destroying century old monuments and on and on and I am already feeling sick into my stomach.

I would be a total failure of the civilized world and us especially if we allow this scourge of humanity to survive, ever.

[anniegirl9]

Could I interject a moment of calm reason here?

I will not attempt to persuade you that anything you said is wrong. However, I will ask you to ponder one question. If the way we are currently addressing the problem is actually making the problem worse (by some estimates, encrutement for the Taliban increased 300% after the Iraq invasion) then in our effort to deminish the threat of the Taliban, could it possibly more prudent to seek another path?

I am not trying to belittle anyone. I am really not. I would just like someone who is so passionate about illiminating terrorist threats with military force to please give me an answer to that question baised on reason supported by anaylisis of the facts and history and not just gut level anger or fear.

Part of me actually wishes someone could do that. My gut tells me that these are very bad people, but my head says if we are only making it worse, shouldn't we try abother route?

[MagisterLudi]

Skipper the Penguin: Cute and cuddly, boys; cure and cuddly. Today we're gonna blo w this du mp.

[DontBeFoolish]

Damn that Bush! I can't believe he's been our president for 8 years. Everything is in a deficit and Afghansstan has become the new Iraq. Can we please get a golden rod out for the presidents early retirement. Oh by the way Mr. Bush. in the words of the Donald. YOUR FIRED!

[gd7277467]

Sorry !

I thought that was a Palin for President 2012 photo !

[StillAmused]

... and this would come as a shock to -- who?

Certainly, not the American colonists who cranked up that Revolutionary War thingy.

Apparently, some dimwits are repeatedly stunned -- STUNNED! -- when the sun rises in the East... again.

19 religious zealots, maybe a half-dozen well-financed extremist leaders...

... and THIS?

[kamijcm]

Only left to wonder if it's been allowed to get out of control to the point where nothing short of transporting almost all personnel in Iraq to Afghanistan ASAP would help curtail this. However Obama has to do it he must succeed in bolstering international support for the mission. The US can't do it alone, there are already too many people over there who would hate a continued presence no matter what.

[Durango]

More troops is probably not the solution.

The Soviets had 150,000 men there for 10 years. And they couldn't pacify the country. Although they had much more local support than is generally recognized.

New leadership calls for new thinking.

Not more Western occupying forces.

[superlive]

The Reds had the country pacified in by 1982, but the following year the Mujahideen began receiving direct assistance from the US and UK which allowed them to finance recruitment in Pakistan and the outside Islamic world.

[UWNBM]

Setting us up for the Obama talking point, are we?
OUT of both Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama...don't eff up!

[mylegsareswollen]

Iraq is done, all Obama has to do i not F it up.

Afghanistan is a non winnable war, I don't care what we do.